


love the one you're with

by mthslh



Category: Crosby Stills Nash & Young (Band), The Lovin' Spoonful (Band), The Monkees (Band)
Genre: (weed and acid), (x3), Drugs, M/M, Vignette, a little angsty?? but more melancholy, all these men are beautiful, stephen... very beautiful, tw drugs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-24
Updated: 2020-09-24
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:42:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26637514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mthslh/pseuds/mthslh
Summary: fire, lightning, and sunlight warm his soul.(a collection of 3 vignettes.)
Relationships: Stephen Stills (Musician)/Peter Tork, Stephen Stills/David Crosby, Stephen Stills/John B. Sebastian
Kudos: 2





	love the one you're with

**Author's Note:**

> obligatory "unpopular fandom rpf" warning: if you happen to be one of the geezers mentioned in the tags click away now  
> (i dunno why anyone would read this, but it stands. i feel bad putting out fic about john b., y'know?)

Peter Tork sets him aflame.

He's young, inexperienced. Peter is the forbidden fruit, and Stephen happily fills his mouth with sweet juice, sucks it off his fingers like Eve in the Garden of Eden. He and Peter fit together perfectly, like they're made for each other. Hell, they practically _are_ each other, a couple of queer blonde folkie out-of-towners trying to make it in Laurel Canyon.

He and Peter sing together, loose and uninhibited by doubt. Peter smiles at his own mistakes, and Stephen presses sloppy kisses onto his jaw and throat. The two men are gentle with one another, crooning into soft skin and gasping praise into the night. They set each other alight, together on the beach late at night with a joint, smooth skin and soft sand enveloping them and holding them close.

Peter glows, soft and mellow, when Stephen takes him for the first time that night, and every night after, too. They smolder together, infatuated, and build each other up. Stephen counts Peter's freckles, Peter makes wreaths of flowers for Stephen's hair. They're tender and gentle, but they're hungry, fueling the fire for longer than anyone would have imagined.

He was naive when he thought it was a one-time thing. He was naive when he thought it was forever, too. They burned slowly and bright, but they burned out. It's for the best, and there aren't any hard feelings when Peter introduced him to Mike. It was good, and then it wasn't, and that's alright.

David Crosby shocks him like a bolt of lightning.

He reminds Stephen of the books he read as a child, the mythology forced down his throat in high school. Homer would call him "leonine," he thinks, in looks and heart. He's belligerent, sure, but he really is lionhearted, with the mane to match. He's got a roaring laugh and big eyes and he likes to toy with Stephen like a madman.

Stephen loves to hate him, and he hates to love him.

Sparks fly when they play together, and they crackle with energy. Once, David slaps him, and Stephen gets on his knees there and then, Joni right upstairs. He and David are always furious, the sex hot and mean and dirty. David tries to insist on being on top, but they both like it both ways. One of them inevitably ends up crying half the time. It's a cathartic experience, being used like that, using someone like that, and release rams into them with the force of a train. 

Sometimes, David drives home and Stephen goes into a fitful sleep, body sore and still shaking. Other times, though, he holds David into the morning, the tang of sweat and songs of love on his tongue.

But then, in a flash, it's gone. Graham comes along, and Judy and Joni sweep them away like waves crashing on the shore. They pretend it never happened, and avoid looking at each other when they can. Sometimes there are pangs in his heart when he sees David's wild hair and manic grin, but they fade away over time, and that's alright.

John Sebastian is the bright light of a summer afternoon.

They'd met several times before. Stephen had even thought about him before, wondered if David might be interested in another one of those triads of his. It was good that he'd never asked, though, John's radiance permeating the world around him and shining clear as day. He could have broken Stephen and David with his all-seeing honesty, split them like open and apart and thrown them to opposite sides.

He sneaks looks at him throughout Woodstock, when he gets a chance. It's allowed, now that David and Judy are over, he reminds himself. He's not quite free of guilt when he looks at John, but when he smiles back, Stephen feels light. Still, he doesn't dare seek John out after the fact.

They end up together a month later at Big Sur, as fate would have it. They end up playing together on a rickety deck, acid coursing through their bodies. John pulls himself up, takes Stephen's cheeks in his hands, kisses him softly. Almost too softly, he thinks, after the things David would do to him, but this is something he can work with. The acid in his system warms John, makes him feel like the near-stifling heat of a Texas summer. He feels like home.

John gleams even in the evening as they come down from their trip, Stephen marveling at his radiance while he plants delicate kisses on his temples. He shines without the tie-dye outfit, shines even as he squints at the details of Stephen's face without his glasses. He even shines when he bids Stephen a honeyed goodbye, promising to come see him at another festival when he can.

Stephen feels the loss acutely for a while, but it was worth it just to see the sun. Even a sunset, after all, is beautiful, even though the night comes after. It's alright.

Stephen sees them all again, of course. It hardly even hurts. Peter graces him with that beautiful smile when they meet again, David laughs uproariously at an unexpected joke, John grins wide when he catches Stephen backstage at another event. They still love each other, more or less, and that's alright.

**Author's Note:**

> uh wowie!!! listen, i was off rpf for a while there, but! there isn't enough csn/y fic! and i couldn't decide who i liked stephen with best. john b's scene is inspired by the pics of him and stephen at big sur, and also the image of him, stephen, and david crosby while recording for joni mitchell.  
> title from the song of the same name obviously


End file.
